


scenes from a daydream

by akanemnida



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M, Other Ships To Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-02-04 17:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12775836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akanemnida/pseuds/akanemnida
Summary: The Baekho/Minhyun drabble dump, because sometimes short and sweet is exactly what we need.





	1. #1 - he had expected this anyway - baekmin ft ong

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I feel like writing, but only short things with no real substance. Enjoy! :)
> 
> Drabble #1 - Baekmin ft. Ong - [he had expected this anyway]

He'd met Seongwoo before — in passing, during Produce 101, though they'd never been groupmates; during various concerts and events, because Wanna One and Nu'est always seemed to be invited to similar gigs; in small gatherings and get-togethers, because Jonghyun and Minhyun were close to Seongwoo. So Ong Seongwoo wasn't a stranger, Dongho would probably call him a friend — but Dongho wouldn't go as far as to say they were close.

But even if they weren't _close_ , Ong's existence had been generally inoffensive and Dongho thought that he quite liked the man (he was funny and charming and handsome and had a small head and made Minhyunnie laugh during the times he couldn't). Sometimes his petty side kicks in and he remembers that he had to sing "wow, megaton bomb" because of Seongwoo —  thanks, Seongwoo-yah —  but really, that's all he had against Ong.

Well, until today, that is.

Until today, because Minhyun decides to bring Seongwoo to the Nu'est dorms just a few days after Wanna One disbandment. Until today, because for some reason, today, Dongho felt... annoyance? Resentment? towards Seongwoo.

Sharing Minhyun with the other Nu'est boys was easy, because it was a co-existence they've been used to since they were awkward teenagers. Sharing Minhyun with the Wanna One boys ( _including_ Seongwoo) had also been easy, because Minhyun deserved to be happy and surrounded with good friends wherever he was; also because Dongho couldn't really be assed to be possessive over someone he barely even saw. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sharing Minhyun with a same-aged-friend while he was in the same apartment. Well.

He'll figure it out.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo's eyes are filled with mirth when Minhyun closes the door to his room.

"What's so funny?" Minhyun asks.

"Dude, I think Dongho's mad that you brought another man home."

Minhyun's ears turn red. "Well. He's _not_ my boyfriend. He's my best friend. And you're one of my best friends too."

Seongwoo smirks. "Is 'best friend' the code word for 'friends who make out' these days? Because please, don't call me that."

"I don't make out with him!" Minhyun hisses. Seongwoo raises an eyebrow, not buying it. "And I don't want to make out with you!"

(He's made out with Dongho a couple of times. He's wanted to make out with Seongwoo several times. There are things Seongwoo doesn't need to know.)

"Well, he probably thinks we're boning at the moment so—"

"Would you please shut up!"

Minhyun leaves his bedroom door slightly ajar.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo finds this whole situation hilarious.

The three of them are in front of the dorm's living room television — it was playing some dumb action movie, one of Minhyun's favorites — and Dongho had lodged himself firmly in between Minhyun and Seongwoo on the sofa.

Seongwoo doesn't know how to handle this situation — primarily because he didn't know how to deal with Dongho acting all territorial, but also because, well, he had _intentions_ (what can he do, Minhyun is one of his closest friends, and Minhyun is a very kind, very attractive, very single man) which meant that Dongho's pettiness is more than warranted.

In the middle of the movie, Seongwoo notices that Minhyun's fingers had intertwined with Dongho's, and the tense, slightly angry expression on Dongho's face had melted into one of peace and contentment.

 _Ah, well_ , Seongwoo thinks, only slightly bitter, because he had expected this anyway.

 


	2. #2 - today he'd let himself dream - gen, slight baekmin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trainee life sucks, and returning to trainee life sucks even harder.

Things had been simple when he was a Kumdo athlete: practice to gain skills. Rank up when you've learned enough skills. Defeat the opponent to win. Goals were laid out, everything was clear-cut, and though training was difficult and he didn't always win, he liked the simplicity and objectivity of it all.

And then suddenly he was casted — casted for his _face_ , of all things, while watching Superstar K — and he'd accepted, and now he was training to become an idol.

And in idol training, well — nothing was clear.

(Learn as much as you can, but it won't guarantee anything. Work your ass off, but you might never perform on stage. Not necessarily having to beat anyone -- these are the boys you'd potentially spend the next ten years of your life with — but having to be good enough, to be better, so that the company would deem you worthy.

Jonghyun would make it: he was hands-down the best dancer among all of them.

Aron would make it: he auditioned, he was good at English, and he was handsome.

Ren would make it: he had the face of an angel and was an unforgettable visual.

Seungcheol would make it: he was the best rapper and had all the makings of a good leader.

Minhyun would make it: he was by far the most handsome, could hold a tune, and was damn tall.)

The company would be debuting a five-membered boygroup.

In the back of his mind, Dongho wonders if he'd ever debut.

 

* * *

 

"You're going to debut, Dongho, you have the best singing voice here," Minhyun says, sincerity lacing each of his words. Dongho wishes he can trust Minhyun's words.

"No. You'll make it over me, Minhyun-ah, you're..." he trails off, not quite finding it in himself to call a man _attractive_. Minhyun stares at him pointedly, waiting for him to continue.

"You're tall," he finishes lamely.

He is rewarded with a knock to the head and Minhyun's obnoxious laughter.

"That's it? That's it, I'm tall?!" Minhyun is doubled over, unable to stop laughing. "I take it back, I'll debut without you!"

"Hey! Fine! Uh, you. You're nice?"

"Nope!"

"Minhyunnie," Dongho whines, clinging onto his friend's arm, seemingly forgetting that this whole situation wasn't something either of their words could control, forgetting that he wasn't good enough, or handsome enough, or tall enough, or — "Minhyunnie, let's debut together."

The smile Minhyun throws him is blinding.

"Yeah. Let's."

 

* * *

 

 

The return to trainee life, Dongho thinks, has really sucked.

To have to swallow his pride as a senior artist, to have to put yourself out there for the whole public to put a number, a rank, a value to your _being_ –

He misses Kumdo. He misses being in control of his fate.

The only thing that had kept him going was that he had something — maybe, probably — to go back to once this all ended. And that he'd probably gathered five, ten, one hundred new fans that would listen to the next track he'd compose for Nu'est. That sounded nice.

Or maybe he'd have nothing to go back to, because maybe his members would make it without him.

He wonders idly if he could pull off a solo career.

 

* * *

 

 

"You'll make it, Minhyun-ah," Dongho says confidently. It was the night before the Produce 101 finale, and all the damn anxiety — all the damn trainee stress that he thought he'd left behind six years ago — had resurfaced. "You're handsome. The nation is in love with you. You'll make it, and Jonghyun will make it, and the two of you will leave me, Minki, and Aron-hyung to rot."

"You know, none of your predictions throughout this show have come true, right?" Minhyun reminds him gently.

"I'm cursing you on purpose," Dongho answers. "So that you won't make it. I'd miss you."

"That's... sort of sweet, but winning would be nice."

Dongho ignores him. Winning would be nice, but there was no way all four of them would win. There was no way he would win. He doesn’t allow himself to think of winning. "You know, I think Jonghyun has kinda made himself jinx-proof at this point."

Minhyun hums. "Yeah, Jonghyun will make it for sure. You can make it too, you know. You're not the nation's 'sexy bandit' for nothing."

"Not gonna happen."

"I'm always right."

"Minhyun-ah, shut up, this is driving me insane. Let's just not debut. Together."

Minhyun looks at him in amusement.

"Okay. Yeah, sure. Let's do that."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry


	3. #3 - because your hands are warm - baekmin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He'd live if he just didn't think too hard about Minhyun's absence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by /the/ MAMA in Japan Nu'est OT5 fancam.

He'd always liked the gratuitous touches that Minhyun had unconditionally offered throughout the years — the hugs, the handholding, the casual arm around his shoulders. Minhyun's touch had been a way for them to share the same, infectious energy whenever they were happy; Minhyun's touch had been a source of comfort whenever things got hard; Minhyun's touch was one of the things that would remind him that no matter what happens, there was someone very real by his side.

It was one of those things that he'd never needed to ask for, and yet he'd receive anyway.

Minhyun had really spoiled him.

Though Minhyun hadn't truly left — there were times that he'd stay up too late just talking about nonsense on the phone with Minhyun, and even more times that his phone wouldn't stop vibrating thanks to his friend's nonstop Kakao messages — Dongho knows that it's not the same, and that his friend being there for him in an abstract sense wouldn't make him stop wanting something concrete, something tactile.

Touch was not something he was used to asking for, because he'd never had to.

So he never asks, and so he ends up taking whatever he can get — random brushes of the hand with Mingyu and Seungkwan during MAMA rehearsals, the occasional short hugs with Bumzu-hyung, playful tackling with Soonyoung whenever they found each other in the office. Neither the quality nor the quantity were the same, but he knows what he wants — _who_ he wants? — and knows he can't get it right now. He thinks he'll last until 2019 if he just doesn't think about it too hard.

But then there were days that they'd meet: during concerts, when they'd be on the same lineup; during awards shows, where he'd watch Minhyun win awards left and right and pride fills his heart because this is what his friend had always deserved.

Minhyun would always be quick to approach him and for a split-second it'd feel the same as before -- arms everywhere, hands intertwined — and Dongho wants to lean into the touch, or to reciprocate, or to make it last, but then it'd end as quickly as it began—

"I'll see you later!" Minhyun would say, smiling, running after the rest of his members. His other set of members.

Dongho takes what he can get, and when it comes to this, he never really asks for more.

Each time, he'd wipe his hands on his trousers to rid himself of the empty feeling.

"Yeah, see you."

 

 

 


	4. #4 - first impressions never really last - minbaek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Minhyun reflects on his feelings for a certain Kang Baekho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the LEGENDARY V-live, the Nuble Late Night Restaurant Episode 2 wherein Dongho was just absolutely freaking SOFT throughout while wearing his giant red cardigan and laughing at everyone else's stupid antics. This may be... the most self-indulgent I've ever been, so beware. Hope it's still, at the very least, somehow enjoyable!

Minhyun had always found Dongho cute — not because he'd had any _aegyo_ in particular (in fact, like himself, Dongho was terrible at _aegyo_ ), but there was just something about the other boy that triggered the maternal instincts that he'd usually kept buried under a relatively calm facade. Sure, he'd do domestic things for the other boys, like folding their laundry or cleaning up after their never-ending mess, and sure, he'd sometimes thought that JR, Ren, and Aron- _hyung_ had their own cute charms, but the instinct to _protect_ was something that Dongho effortlessly brought out of him.

It wasn't even as if Dongho needed any protection: though he'd had around three inches of height over Dongho ("It's just two centimeters, Minhyun-ah." "Where'd you get that, our official biographies? That's fake, Dongho-ya."), Dongho was also the stronger of the two with his solid arm, chest, and leg muscles. Unlike himself, Dongho also didn't have the stupid habit of tripping while walking on flat ground. So no, it wasn't Dongho's appearance or physicality that triggered Minhyun into thinking he was cute. That would've been... really weird.

If first impressions were to be trusted, cute honestly seems like a word that shouldn’t be used to describe Dongho. At first glance, Dongho was the definition of sexy, sure, but Minhyun was long past the point of believing that. Or, well, he'd seen Dongho at his awkward prepubescent stage; when Dongho was still un-inked, all short legs and long arms with no definition whatsoever — so maybe Minhyun just never really subscribed to that... misguided belief.

(Okay, fine — if he was being completely honest, he did find Dongho sexy. Sometimes. Very rarely. Like when Dongho was in the middle of a live performance or when the two of them were—well, never mind.)

Minhyun thinks he's drawn to the way Dongho behaves, his actions always filled with a child-like innocence but with the brash confidence of a fully-grown man. Dongho looked at the world as if everything was genuinely fascinating, questioned everything that did not seem to match his tastes, and glowered at everything that pissed him off. Minhyun was calmer, more rational, and really just could not be assed to react to everything in the way Dongho seemed to naturally do; still, Minhyun found his friend's wide-eyed antics charming, and, well, the only word to describe it was cute.

He'd also been endeared by Dongho's occasional helplessness; not that Dongho was completely inept or anything, but in the depths of his mind Minhyun finds that he enjoys the way Dongho would ask for help for the most mundane things. Sometimes it would be a one-time thing, like Dongho asking him to peel a hot potato or to open a bag of chips; other times it would be a recurring, daily thing like Dongho asking him for help with staying on top of his latest diet. Dongho had figured out long ago that Minhyun had found him cute sometimes; had figured out that with round eyes and a well-timed "Minhyun-ah", Minhyun really would never refuse him. Minhyun would just be an ass and make it difficult for Dongho by bickering with him before giving in, but, well, that was his job: he was Dongho's caretaker as well as Dongho's number one enemy. It's not as if he didn't enjoy it.

But the moments he finds Dongho the cutest are the times when it is completely unintentional; when Minhyun is caught completely off-guard because of how random or how miniscule or how _insignificant_ his actions are — if you can even consider them _actions_. He finds Dongho the cutest when Dongho would look at him with sleepy eyes first thing in the morning (or, well, afternoon — Dongho tried his hardest to never wake up in the morning), when he would quietly say "Morning, Minhyun-ah" before walking to the kitchen to find something to eat and Minhyun feels his heart skip two beats before he'd respond "It's afternoon you lazy ass." He finds him the cutest in the moments wherein a tired Dongho would clumsily grab at his hand as they were both in the space between sleep and wakefulness during long rides in the company van and Minhyun would intertwine their fingers to mess with Dongho’s head and yet neither of them would let go anyway. Minhyun finds him the most endearing when Dongho would ask him out to a Han River date ("Come on, Minhyun-ah, it'll be fun." "Nope, I'm lazy and I want to read this book." — but Minhyun knows it would be fun, he just basks in the small pout Dongho sends whenever he fakes resistance); finds him a little bit adorable when Dongho insists on documenting said date ("It's fanservice if I post it on Instagram!" he says, but Minhyun has caught him more than once scrolling through his camera roll like a sap); finds him the cutest in the middle of their date and Minhyun finds that Dongho has a small bit of _ramyeon_ noodle on the corner of his mouth and Minhyun thumbs at it to remove it and...

Damn, okay, so Dongho is just really cute all the time (except when he's sexy, or faking sexy, or when he's being stupid), but he is the cutest, the _most cutest_ — that's not even grammatically correct, he notes, but there's just no other descriptor that fits — whenever Minhyun finally decides to stop being a hardass, whenever he stops resisting the damn cuteness, whenever he leans in for a kiss and Dongho’s eyes would widen by a fraction before closing completely.

At the end of the day, he surmises that maybe it wasn't all protectiveness towards Dongho that he felt. Maybe he just wanted to protect his own heart from bursting out from his chest whenever Dongho made him feel stupid things. Public displays of _aegyo_ be damned — the moments he found Dongho the cutest were reserved for him, and him alone, and he'd prefer it if it stayed that way forever.

 

 

 

 


	5. #5 - take what you can get - baekmin angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongho learns that love isn't all about proper timing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The backbone of this was scrapped from [a lot like kryptonite] because it was too sad, and here I am, making it longer and sadder, because I didn't want to work on my longer WIPs hah... Enjoy...?

It was supposed to be a one-time thing.

 

It was what they’d agreed on: _Minhyun-ah, I’m curious, you’re curious, let’s try just once_. It turned into a two-time thing – _Baekho-ya, I’m bored, let’s do it again, it wasn’t bad the first time_. The third time happened in an alcohol-induced haze, and the fourth time… Dongho couldn’t even remember what excuse they’d made for the fourth time.

Somewhere along the line, they’d run out of excuses, falling instead into a mutual, unspoken agreement — they _wanted_ each other sometimes, when things got too lonely or too boring or too painful and that was _enough_.

 

At least, it used to be enough, because sometime in between the twelfth and the fifteenth time Dongho found himself thinking that maybe he didn’t want this to be a sometimes thing, that maybe he wanted this (this whole thing, _everything_ , from kissing stealthily in the middle of the night to finding himself asleep while tangled in Minhyun’s long, long limbs) to be an _always_ thing, and.

Well. That was when Dongho realized that he’d broken their mutual, unspoken agreement.

 

* * *

 

Dongho’s never seen the point in side-stepping inevitabilities, has never figured out why so many people beat around the bush when it comes to matters of the heart.

Finding courage was easy: courage has always been buyable in six-packs in the convenience store in front of his dorm. Finding the right things to say was a lot harder, because Minhyun was a man of words and clarity and precision, but maybe he just has to blurt it out in the heat of the moment, maybe he just has to say it _now_ while his hands were roaming under the taller boy’s shirt, say it _now_ while his fingertips were tracing circles along the flat planes of Minhyun’s stomach, say it _now_ while he lets his hands roam up, higher, _higher_ , and Minhyun moves his lips away from Dongho’s mouth to let out a sharp gasp —

 

The words were simple: _Minhyun-ah, I love you_ — Minhyun would _understand_ because Minhyun feels the same, right…?

 

"I—" "Baek—" they say in unison.

 

"You go first," Dongho whispers quietly, his heart pounding in his ears and it’s really all he could hear but he tries his hardest to focus on the sound of Minhyun’s voice.

"Baekho-ya," Minhyun says with red lips and dazed eyes, his chest heaving; Dongho's face was cupped in his palms, and Dongho’s hands were still under Minhyun’s shirt. "Like this"—he leans forward, planting a chaste kiss on Dongho's lips—"we’ve been doing this for a while… nothing has to _change_ , right?"

 

Dongho tries to swallow the growing lump in his throat. Maybe he should have spoken first.

 

Or maybe not.

 

"What do you mean, Minhyun-ah?"

 

Minhyun kisses Dongho's cheek, then the underside of his jaw, moves down to his neck. "What I mean is"—he sucks hard at the junction between neck and shoulder, in an effort to leave a mark—"we’re still friends, right?"

 _Since when do friends decide to leave hickeys on their friends’ necks?_ Dongho wanted to snap in response. He barely manages to hold it in.

Minhyun moves upwards to capture Dongho's lips in his. Dongho tastes the remnants of beer as he moves his tongue back inside Minhyun's mouth, thinks that Minhyun tastes a little bit like home and friendship and heartbreak all at once.

 

There’s no point, he thinks, in saying what he had wanted to say when Minhyun had ended anything before it could even begin. It _was_ supposed to be a one-time thing, this whole thing had been built on hormonal excuses, and here he was, expecting _love_?

Really, there was no point in side-stepping the inevitability of his own heartbreak.

 

Still…

 

Dongho pulls away from Minhyun's mouth and buries his face in Minhyun's shoulder, not wanting his eyes to betray what he felt. Dongho lets his hand move downwards to palm at Minhyun's crotch; he mutters an insincere "sure, Minhyun-ah" that immediately gets drowned out by Minhyun's sounds of pleasure.

Dongho takes what he can get, after all, without asking for more, and if Minhyun was willing to give this, then...

 

Maybe it could be enough.

 

 

 


	6. #6 - sometimes your brain betrays you - gen, nuble company au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misinterpretation is a bitch, especially when it happens when you're only half-awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick, light-hearted Nuble company AU to fill Teru's drabble request and to get back into the groove of writing after being gone for a while. Gen but slightly Baekmin.

 

Minhyun rubs his eyes as he stares at the computer screen in front of him. He wasn't sure what he was looking at anymore, with the numbers and words and tables and codes on-screen all blurring into one. It was his first day back from his extended vacation, and the ever-merciless team leader Kim had taken the opportunity to dump a pile of work that would take him at least three overtimes to complete by the deadline five days away.

 

"Kang- _ssi_ ," he whines softly, trying to catch the attention of the man seated beside him. "Dongho- _ssi_."

 

Dongho grunts, looking up from his own laptop in response. "Just Dongho is fine. I remember telling you this before you went on vacation."

 

Minhyun brightens. "Right, right. Hey, Dongho-ya, why are you still here?"

 

"You're not the only one Kim- _ssi_ dumped a shitload of work on," Dongho answers pointedly, trying to ignore the heat that flooded his cheeks due to Minhyun's sudden switch to _banmal_.  "It's kind of unfair cause I've been here the whole time you were gone and we had so much free time then, and then suddenly you show up—"

 

Minhyun widens his eyes and raises his hands up in protest. "Hey, don't blame me."

 

Dongho's features soften as he looks over at Minhyun, until finally breaking out into a full-blown laugh. "Sorry," he says in between giggles. "It's not your fault, I'm just stressed—"

 

"Same," Minhyun answers. "I don't know how to finish all of this. It's like I've forgotten how to work."

 

"Like how you forgot we used to be friends before you went on vacation, Minhyun-ah?"

 

Minhyun scoffs, looking back at his own laptop screen. "I deserved that." He manages to get through several lines of code when Dongho suddenly breaks the silence.

 

"Minhyun-ah," he says nonchalantly, fingers still tapping at the keyboard.

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Want to sleep together tonight?"

 

 

Blood rushes to Minhyun's face, all the way to the tips of his ears and all he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat.

 

 

What the _hell_?

 

 

He'd heard about the hook-up culture in high-stress environments like the corporate world, but he'd never thought he'd be part of it... They'd only returned to first-name-basis a few minutes ago, and sure, his officemate was _very_ attractive and had a nice ass and was a good friend to have around during times of stress but—

 

 

Kang Dongho-ssi _was_ nice, and had a nice _face_ , and had a nice _butt_.

 

 

...Maybe hooking up with someone wasn't too... bad?

 

 

"O...kay?" Minhyun says, an unattractive croak replacing his usual honey-like voice. He cursed himself internally. _Way to make an impression._

 

 

Dongho was still typing away at his laptop. "I mean, I remember you said you live three stations away from here and my dorm is walking distance, and I think by the time we finish for tonight the trains would have stopped running, and I can sleep on the couch anyway and—"

 

 

"Wait. _Sleep_... as in passing out and snoring and dreaming?"

 

 

Dongho furrows his brows as he looks at Minhyun's confused, reddened face beside him. "I mean — oh shit, you didn't—"

 

 

Minhyun gapes and then gestures awkwardly at the space between them. "I—"

 

 

"You—"

 

 

"I thought—"

 

 

"You said _yes_ —" Dongho sputters, his face matching Minhyun's in redness.

 

 

Minhyun buries his face in his arms. "I'm _so_ stressed," he answers weakly.

 

He waits for the heat to dissipate from his face, for the embarrassment to leave him, for the world to swallow him whole. He waits, but all he gets was the sound of Dongho tapping away at his keyboard.

 

 

"I mean — _Sure_ , why not, okay," he hears Dongho say in between keysmashes. "But maybe let's go out for dinner once or twice first?"

 

 

God damn it.

 

 

Today has _definitely_ been an interesting first day back at work.

 

 

 

 


	7. #7 - the way to a man's heart - gen, nuble company au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. 
> 
> or: the drabble in which hwang daeri finally befriends kang daeri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick, Nuble company au. Gen, slightly baekmin. Kang Daeri and Hwang Daeri are fun to play with.

 

It starts with a mistake.

 

He'd woken up at 5 AM that day, too early even for his standards, and because of his dazed state and lack of sleep, he'd ended up buying two pieces of cream bread from the convenience store instead of his usual purchase of red bean bread.

 

It wasn't until he bit into his bread right after settling down at his workstation that he realized that he bought the wrong thing.

 

Hwang Minhyun hated whipped cream. He curses the two round breads for looking too damn alike.

 

So at 7 in the morning, Minhyun leaves his extra piece of cream bread on Kang _Daeri_ 's table. At 8, Minhyun hears a soft "Morning, Hwang _Daeri—_ Oh, what's this?" that causes him to look up from his computer.

 

At 8:00:05, he sees the brightest fucking smile he'd ever seen from his seatmate's face.

 

He's caught off guard by how much he wants to see it again.

 

* * *

 

He met Kang Dongho a week ago, when he'd first started his job at Nuble company. The boss — Team Leader Kim — had introduced the two of them, told him to get along with the other man because they had the same position and would therefore be working together a lot.

 

Kang _Daeri_ was an interesting character: while he seemed friendly enough during their breaktimes, he'd turn into a stone-faced, laser-focused man whenever there was work to do. In Minhyun's eyes, he was slightly intimidating, bordering on scary. His wide shoulders and the tattoos that sometimes peeked out from under his sleeves didn't help in lessening Minhyun's irrational fear of his seatmate.

 

Minhyun thought he was the son of the mafia, for god's sake. He didn't expect Kang _Daeri_ to be someone with the prettiest damn smile when faced with a simple pastry.

 

* * *

 

At 4PM, Kang _Daeri_ taps Minhyun on the shoulder. There's a splotch of icing on the corner of his mouth and —  _oh_ , Dongho must've finally eaten the bread. He stops himself from wiping the cream off his seatmate's face. That would've been really weird.

 

"The bread, Hwang- _ssi_ ," Dongho says, and finally he realizes that he has stupid cream on his mouth because he finally decides to wipe at it. "Was that from you?"

 

Minhyun's mind short-circuits. The realization that a workmate might be kind of attractive is never a pleasant one. "Um," he says dumbly. "I don't know."

 

He furrows his eyebrows, confused. "How can you not know if something came from... ah, never mind."

 

"I mean. Shit. Yeah, I left it on your desk," Minhyun answers, the tips of his ears burning red. "I don't really like cream."

 

"That's weird, but I don't like chicken, so I guess I'm weirder," Dongho says with a laugh that was just so _warm_ and maybe Dongho really wasn't part of the _yakuza_. "Thanks, Minhyun- _ssi_. Can I call you that? Minhyun-ah. It flows nicer than Hwang- _ssi_ and you've given me free food already so, we're friends, maybe—"

 

"Yeah. Sure, no problem, Dongho-ya." Calling his seatmate that way was a little too familiar for Minhyun's tastes especially since he was so afraid just a few minutes ago, but he goes with it. "Friends. I can buy you more tomorrow. If you want."

 

The smile he gets in return at 4:05 almost blinds him. 

 

 

 

 


	8. #8 - conversations from the night before - baekmin, slight angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There exists no less than a hundred things that they both have to address before Minhyun leaves for the Wanna One dorms. 
> 
> (Their relationship status is just one of them.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I love the idea of FWB Baekmin angst more than anything...

 

 

 

"So," he starts, breaking away from Minhyun's kiss while ignoring the irritation visible in Minhyun's eyes. "Why didn't we ever get together?"

 

Minhyun snickers. "Is now really the time?"

 

"Mmm, won't see you for a while, so might as well—" Dongho chooses to latch his lips on Minhyun's neck, nipping lightly so as not to leave marks. Minhyun sighs softly at the sensation and moves his hands to thread at Dongho's hair.

 

In any other day, in any other life he wouldn't hesitate to mark Minhyun's perfect, perfect neck, but—

 

Not today. Not now, not when Minhyun's about to leave. Not just because the whole world would be watching his best friend starting tomorrow but.

 

Marking Minhyun as _his_ when he really _wasn't_ would've been nothing short of unfair.

 

"Schedules? Tours? Produce 101? Though we were practically dating anyway—"  

 

"That's the thing. We were practically dating. What were we so scared of?" Dongho looks at him with wide eyes.

 

There is a pause, a long stretch of silence while Minhyun considers the answer to his question.

 

"I think I was scared of breaking up. Losing you." Minhyun lets out a short, hollow laugh, before leaning in to plant a chaste kiss on Dongho's lips. "Separation."

 

"Well, that worked out nicely," Dongho deadpans. Sarcasm was his only way of deflecting; the fears Minhyun expressed were exactly what had been on his mind and heart for the longest time. In hindsight, they were all dumb concerns. "And tomorrow I'll have neither a Minhyun nor a boyfriend."

 

Minhyun narrows his eyes. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. And you _know_ I can be your boyfriend. Just—just ask me."

 

"Okay, I will. In a year and a half." Dongho says, smiling widely. It's a smile that would make Minhyun's heart hurt and he knew it.

 

Minhyun whines. "No, do it _now_ , Baekho-ya, don't make me wait. Or. Wait. I can ask you—"

 

"No," Dongho answers firmly, as earnestly and as sincerely as he can. He _wants_ to but he knows that it wouldn't be _right_. "I'm not an asshole. I'm not going to suddenly tie you down the night before the best months of your life."

 

Minhyun blinks once, twice. "What are you even saying? You know it won't be as fun without you."

 

"Just go out and have fun, Minhyun-ah. Be the Nation's boyfriend—"

 

"I want to be _your_ boyfriend, you dumbass."

 

"Let's figure out if we're really meant for each other while we're apart." He pauses, feeling a lump form in his throat. "And if you come back and you realize that you still want something. I'll."

 

He breathes in deeply, then exhales.

 

"I'll be here."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	9. #9 - i'm a little lonely - baekmin, slight angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> polaris had always been meant for that one special person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah... i posted this a long time ago on twitter (the day after the comeback, actually!)... i didn't realize i didn't post it on ao3 and i found it in my phone notes while in class this afternoon... so. well. it's here now :p

 

 

 

A year's separation means that some things about Minhyun have been reduced into mush in his head — not quite forgotten, but _almost_. If he closes his eyes and concentrates long enough he'd probably be able to recall: the scent of Minhyun's hair when he's just taken a shower (citrus, maybe, but which kind?), the exact sound of Minhyun's voice first thing in the morning (he thinks it's probably raspy, but he could be wrong—), the speed at which he had to pedal in the last stretch of their nightly bike rides so that he'd beat Minhyun to their self-imposed finish line (fast, of course, because a determined Minhyun moved at lightning speed but...)  
  
There are also things he wants to forget, if only to preserve his own sanity: the absolutely, ridiculously perfect way they would fit together whenever they slept together, or the way Minhyun's lips would graze at his cheeks during random moments of the day, or the feel of Minhyun's thumb running over the back of his hand whenever they intertwined fingers—  
  
(Not that he tries too hard to forget them.)

  
  
But then there are things, specific memories that he wouldn't be able to forget even if he tried.  
  
Like the way Minhyun had told him he loved him for the first time,  
  
And the feeling of that awkward first kiss wherein neither of them knew what the hell they were doing so they'd both ended up with slightly bruised noses and Minhyun had bought him a tube of chapstick the next day.  
  
And that one night they spent sprawled on the grass just beside the Han River, chests heaving, tired from one of their pointlessly difficult bicycle races.

 

  
  
("Baekho-ya," Minhyun had said, turning slightly so that he was facing Dongho and looking at him straight in the eye. The thought that his best friend is pretty crosses his mind, not quite for the first time.  
  
"It's nice, isn't it, looking at the stars like this?"  
  
"How is it nice? All I can see are clouds," Dongho had replied. The bright lights of Seoul meant that they could barely see anything in the sky. He smirks when he sees Minhyun narrow his eyes.  
  
"Not the stars, stupid, just... I love talking to you." His arm was outstretched, palms facing the sky as if reaching for something in the distance. "I want to watch the Northern Lights with you one day."  
  
He remembers clearly: his heart had skipped a beat, maybe two. He regrets the way he masked it with a laugh. "You sap. Where would you get the money, even?"  
  
"Maybe one day we'll finally hit it big, make a lot of money—"  
  
"And with all that money, you'll choose to look at the Aurora."  
  
The fire in Minhyun's eyes had been unmistakable.  
  
"Yes. With you.")

 

  
  
Dongho sighs, watching a shooting star fall from behind his car window. He glances at the empty seat behind him. The loneliness builds, builds, so he thinks about calling _him_ on the phone but...  
  
He decides against it — maybe he can enjoy the scenery while trying (and failing) to forget.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to scream at me, or if you want to request a drabble that I may or may not write, you can find me on twitter (same username as my pseud).


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